We are often asked which batteries are really the best for XMODs and Mini-Zs, and so in pursuit of answering that question accurately, we invested in the appropriate testing equipment and analyzed a variety of the popular batteries on the market and here is the resulting comparison data.

Testing Procedures: A CBA II Computerized Battery Analyzer was used to perform these tests. We used a 1 amp load which is the average load that batteries will see over the course of a typical race in both XMODs and Mini-Zs. All batteries were peak charged with an Orbit Microlader Computerized Charging system at .5 amps. It should be noted that different cells will peak at different voltages as shown by the test results.

Rated Capacity: 900 mAh Tested Capacity: 780 mAh Total Time 46:52
The most punch, highest peak voltage and most linear discharge in the group with 46 minutes run time at the 1Amp load make this an all around solid performer and the best we have tested so far.

Rated Capacity: 750 mAh Tested Capacity: 480 mAh Total Time 29:00
These are popular with many racers due the early punch they provide and are decent for short races, but no good for longer races.

Rated Capacity: 900 mAh Tested Capacity: 730 mAh Total Time 43:54
Not to be confused with AtomicMods, Atomic is a China-based vendor of ours and well respected for making quality Mini-Z parts. These batteries perform reasonably well, but are far behind the top contenders.

Rated Capacity: 750 mAh Tested Capacity: 660 mAh Total Time 39:18
Decent performance but many racers use these simply because they charge in 15 minutes, but there are drawbacks to fast charging. See fast charging under charging questions for more on this.

Rated Capacity: 700 mAh Tested Capacity: 450 mAh Total Time 27:17
Used by many because they don't know any better, but as you can see, these are very poor performing batteries that struggle to deliver half their rated current.

Rated Capacity: 1000 mAh Tested Capacity: 160 mAh Total Time 9:26
We brought in some of these intending to sell them and thought WOW, 1000 mAh batteries, but all we got was an important lesson. Rated current is not a reliable indicator of performance, this one advertises 1000 mAh, but only delivered a paltry 160 mAh at 1 AMP.

Rated current is not a reliable indicator of performance at the loads that we run. Most manufacturers discharge their batteries at .2C to determine the advertised capacity. For example, the .2C for the Radio Shack cells would be .14A (700 x .2 = 140 mA or .14A). Into a .14A load these cells deliver 640 mAh over a 3 hour period which is much closer to the rated capacity; but we don't care about that because our cars pull a lot more. A stock car will pull up to 3 amps while a modified car can pull up to 8 amps of current, but both tend to average either side of 1 amp over the course of a race so that is what we use for our tests. As for the Powerbase cells, the folks at Powerbase are a pack of liars and should be castrated and their testicles drug behind my Lithium powered XMOD until the batteries are dead.